No elected Los Angeles mayor has ever become governor of California, and the last San Francisco mayor to move into the governor's mansion was James "Sunny Jim" Rolph in 1931. But Riordan's backers say the former two-term mayor of Los Angeles will break that string of coincidence.

"People in politics are like generals who always try to refight the last war," said Kevin Spillane, a political adviser to Riordan. "But Bradley barely lost, and Feinstein almost beat Wilson."

It's not that things turned out badly for those other mayors. Wilson and Feinstein each became a U.S. senator, and Wilson eventually served two terms as governor. Even Bradley spent six more years as mayor of Los Angeles after losing to Republican George Deukmejian for a second time in 1986.

But the first time out wasn't the charm. Wilson, then mayor of San Diego, finished well down the track in the 1978 Republican governor's primary. Feinstein, fresh from two terms as mayor of San Francisco, lost to Wilson in the 1990 governor's race.

"In California, a first-time run for statewide office is very tough," said Bill Carrick, a veteran Democratic consultant who has worked for Feinstein and Riordan. "It's a huge state that's hard to get around. It's almost like running a presidential race."

Riordan's opponents in the March GOP primary have suggested that Riordan's lifelong links to Los Angeles and his "I Love L.A." attitude won't be a help in a state where many people have their suspicions of California's biggest megalopolis.

"That's just scuttlebutt Riordan's opponents have put out and it's not true at all," Spillane scoffed. "Our polls and focus groups show people equate being mayor of Los Angeles, a difficult and challenging job, with being governor of California."

Riordan hasn't always helped his own case with people beyond the Los Angeles city limits. While mayor of Los Angeles, he stirred up Bakersfield residents when he called their city "boring." Earlier this year, he opened himself up for more criticism when he talked about touring California before deciding whether to run for governor.

"I'm going to travel around the state to strange areas" to talk to people about their concerns, Riordan said in a radio interview.

The "strange areas" remark made a political trip to Visalia or Arcata sound like an expedition to the moon. Opponents like Secretary of State Bill Jones, a Fresno resident who has won two statewide races, said it showed how unfamiliar Riordan was with life outside the big city.

But despite the much-touted rivalry between San Francisco and Los Angeles and the continuing edginess between California's rural and urban areas, being mayor of Los Angeles isn't necessarily a bad thing in a governor's race.

"The fact that no Los Angeles mayor has ever been elected governor is one of those things that is happenstance," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, which has tracked California elections for decades. "Tom Bradley was expected by everyone to be elected (in 1982) and the reasons he lost had nothing to do with his being mayor of Los Angeles."

There haven't been a lot of chances for those mayors to step up, since Riordan was just the fifth mayor that Los Angeles has had since 1938. Sam Yorty, mayor from 1961 to 1973, had some unsuccessful runs for U.S. Senate, while Bradley, the city's first and so far only black mayor, lost twice to Deukmejian.

The only Los Angeles mayor ever to become governor was William Stephens, who was appointed mayor for two weeks in 1909 and then became governor in 1917,

Joe Cerrell of Los Angeles has been involved in state and local Democratic politics since the 1950s. As onetime executive director of the state Democratic Party, he's had to deal firsthand with the state's regional rivalries.

"Of all the cities in California, the highest antipathy would be toward Los Angeles," he said. "But look at the great name ID the mayor of Los Angeles has.

Any detriment is balanced with the plus of that name ID."

The mayor of Los Angeles sits at the center of a media market that extends north to Ventura County, south to the edge of San Diego County and east to San Bernardino and Riverside counties. That's a huge chunk of the state's voters who see the mayor on television regularly and read about him in the newspapers almost every day.

"Riordan already is well-known in the biggest media market in the state," Spillane said. "It's easier to get known in the rest of the state than it is in Los Angeles County."

Even so, voters for governor traditionally have been more comfortable with candidates they've already seen on a statewide ballot. Since 1953, only Ronald Reagan has been elected without previously serving in a statewide office.

Of the 18 governors during the past 100 years, there have been five former lieutenant governors, two former attorneys general, and a single state treasurer, secretary of state and U.S. senator.

Even the losers in those races have typically had a statewide constituency. Except for Bradley in 1982 and 1986 and Feinstein in 1990, only Jesse Unruh, speaker of the Assembly in 1970, even got close enough to lose a general election for governor without previously appearing on a statewide ballot.

San Francisco mayors haven't done much better than their compatriots in Los Angeles. Besides Feinstein, Joe Alioto lost the Democratic primary to Jerry Brown in 1974, while George Christopher was beaten by Reagan in the 1966 GOP primary.

"It's very difficult for mayors in general to become governor," said Kevin Starr, state librarian and author of a series of books on California's history.

"It's a whole different track of government."

But Riordan and his backers aren't worried about the past. Their focus is on the future, on the elections in March and November.

"We like what we've seen so far and feel Riordan's background and position on the issues is attractive to voters across the state," Spillane said. "To say a big city mayor can't get elected governor is nonsense."